1917-2017: Tychyna, Zhadan and The Dogs

Yara Arts Group and La MaMa present a new work about societal change, based on poetry by Ukrainians Pavlo Tychyna and Serhiy Zhadan, and featuring rock songs by Zhadan & the Dogs. More…

What happens when society crumbles? This multidisciplinary piece is a reminder to reflect on our past as we contemplate the way forward. A show filled with music and poetry transformed into scenes, action, and projections.

“Astounding scenes of powerful images…The poems become the source of experiences that the actors bring to life through movement and in dialogue, sometimes questioning, sometimes marveling…Zhadan sings his rock lyrics in hip-hop style with a fierce energy that befits rebellion…This magnificent performance encourages us to confront the ugliness with vigor and celebrate the beauty that human beings are capable of in the midst of tragedy and error.”
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“Enchanting…Often in stark in black and white, this ensemble-based work relied on a fidelity to the words and the work of Tychyna…Harmonic singing warmed the heart, while dance and video provided extraordinary contrast. The poetry, spoken perfectly, conveys a bleak world…There’s something cool and breezy about the poetic style of ‘1917-2017: Tychyna, Zhadan & the Dogs.’ The performance, as a whole, is a generous offering and easy to digest.”
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"It does not ultimately coalesce to make one strong statement, and if you wish to exit the theater with one unifying message, you may be disappointed. But, for me no matter, all the different elements individually project a great deal of passion, the spirit of revolution, and that seems to be what the group was after...The play, in a sort of selfish way, seems more concerned with its volts of evocative moments than in any clear communication."
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